Inclusive Education in Italy: A Legal Appraisal 10 Year after the Signature of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Abstract

Ten years after the signature of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and few months after the release of the CRPD Committee’s Concluding Observations on the Italian report, this article provides a critical appraisal on the protection and promotion of the right to an inclusive education in Italy. Building on the relevant interdisciplinary scholarship, it endeavours to analyse whether Italian law complies with the obligations laid down in the CRPD. It does not engage in an analysis of the theoretical and pedagogical foundations of the policy of integrazione scolastica. Rather, it discusses the national legal framework and relevant case law, in order to identify its strengths and shortcomings in light of Art. 24 CRPD. This article ultimately argues that Italy is committed towards the full inclusion of students with disabilities, but, so far, the implementation of a substantially progressive legislation has fallen short the objective of inclusive education prescribed by the CRPD.